Identified with the Zacchaeus of the Gospel and husband of Saint Veronica, Saint Amateur retired in the 1st century to the rocks of Quercy. He founded the oratory of Rocamadour there and carved a statue of the Virgin. His body, discovered intact in 1166, miraculously survived the flames during the Wars of Religion.
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SAINT AMATEUR OR ROC-AMADOUR,
Origins and establishment in Quercy
Saint Amateur is identified by tradition as Zacchaeus of the Gospel, husband of Saint Veronica, who came to settle as a hermit in the Val-Ténébreux in Quercy.
According to a very ancient tradition, confirmed by the authority of Pope Martin V (Bull of 1437) and the recent hagiographic discoveries that have immortalized the name of Abbé Damourelle, Saint Amateu saint Amateur Hermit of Quercy identified with the biblical Zacchaeus. r is the same person as Zacchaeus, of whom it is spoken in the Gospel, and who is believed to be the husband of Saint Veronica. Having landed on the soil of Gaul with his holy friends, Lazarus, Martha, and Mary, Zacchaeus left them to seek out a solitude far away where he could settle. He found it in the labyrinth of rocks which, in the middle of Quercy (Lot), raise their beetling brows above the narrow ravine deeply carved by the torrential waters of the Lauzon. This valley, which today bears the name of Roc-Amadour, was then called the Val-Ténébreux (Dark Valley), and was populated by ferocious beasts. This severe and grandiose landscape, which brings to mind the Thebaid, could not fail to please a man occupied by high and austere thoughts; he raised with his own hands a humble cell on one of the highest points of the mountain, and carved into the rock, at the level of the eagle's eyrie, an oratory in honor of the Mother of God. The peoples of the beautiful valleys of Figeac and Saint-Céré hailed the pious hermi t by the nam Amator rupis Hermit of Quercy identified with the biblical Zacchaeus. e of *Amator rupis* (Lover of the rock); later this name changed to that of Amadour or Roc-Amadour, more in keeping with the genius of the southern dialect.
Foundation of the Marian sanctuary
The hermit fashions a statue of the Virgin and founds an oratory which becomes a place of pilgrimage famous for its miracles.
The small statue of the Virgin, which Zacchaeus had fashioned, performed numerous miracles for the faithful who came to invoke her in her sanctuary of rocks: this pilgrimage, eighteen centuries old, is still today one of the most famous in France: we shall speak of it in its place (September 8).
Discovery of the incorrupt body
In 1166, the body of Saint Amateur was discovered perfectly preserved, attracting the devotion of King Henry II.
Zacchaeus was first buried in the vestibule of the chapel of Notre-Dame de Roc-Amadour, which he had founded, and remained hidden there until 1166. At that time, a local inhabitant who was at the point of death ordered his family, perhaps through divine inspiration, to bury his earthly remains at the entrance of the oratory. Scarcely had they dug into the earth when the body of the blessed Amateur was found whole, placed in the church near the altar, and shown for the devotion of the pilgrims. Then, miracles so numerous and so unheard of occurred in this place, through the power of the most holy Virg in, that Kin roi Henri II King of France during the wars against Spain. g Henry II, who was at Castelnau-de-Bretenoux (Lot), came himself to satisfy his devotion there.
Destruction and preservation of the relics
The relics suffered the assaults of the Huguenots in 1562 and then of the revolutionaries in 1793, but fragments miraculously remain.
These precious remains remained without corruption for several centuries, such that it was said in a proverb: *This is as whole as the body of Saint Amadour*; or: *He is in flesh and bone like Saint Amadour*. In 1562, the Huguenots having sei zed the c Huguenots Group that ransacked Die and destroyed the saint's relics in 1567. ity, pillaged the chapel and delivered these blessed relics to the flames; the fire respected them; then Captain Bessonie took a blacks mith's hammer to b capitaine Bessonie Huguenot captain who attempted to destroy the relics. reak them, adding to this impious action words even more impious. Father Odo de Gissey asserts having spoken to a man who witness père Odo de Gissey Author and witness cited regarding the state of the relics. ed this horrible spectacle, and who testified that at that time one could still see the hairs of the beard on the Saint's face. However, they managed to snatch a portion of these precious relics from the flames. The same author had himself seen an arm of the Blessed one with a part of his hand; one could notice a broken finger, where blood appeared as vermilion as it could be in a freshly opened body.
The remains of the blessed Amadour were again attacked and profaned in 1793. Now there remain only two reliquaries, in one of which one sees bones half-consumed by fire, and mixed with dust similar to black ash; in the other, one perceives several bones that the fire did not even damage; the taffeta that surrounded the liver is still imprinted with bloody marks, and the liver itself, far from having corrupted, has preserved the elasticity of living flesh. Thus Saint Amadour, conqueror of hell during his life, has conquered it again after his death.
Location of relics and sources
Mention of a relic in Davenescourt and enumeration of the hagiographic sources used for this account.
There is a relic of the Saint in Davenesco Davenescourt Location preserving a relic of the saint. urt, with the Ladies of Saint-Maur.
Propre de Cahors: Année Dominicaine, volume IV; Notre-Dame de Roc-Amadour, by M. Caillan, canon of Le Mans.
Annexes & related entities
Structured data for exploration: events, miracles, quotes, places, attributes, patronages, and important entities cited in the text.
Key Events
- Arrival in Gaul with Lazarus, Martha, and Mary
- Establishment of a hermitage in the Val-Ténébreux (Quercy)
- Construction of an oratory to the Mother of God
- Discovery of the intact body in 1166
- Desecration of relics by the Huguenots in 1562
- New desecration in 1793
Miracles
- Incorruption of the body for several centuries
- Resistance of the relics to fire in 1562
- Elastic preservation of the liver after centuries
- Numerous miracles performed by the statue of the Virgin crafted by him
Quotes
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This is as whole as the body of Saint Amadour
Popular proverb